


12 Days of Bubbline Anthology

by Zelderon



Category: Adventure Time, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: 12 Days of Bubbline, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Bubbline, Can anyone guess who Ellis Preston is?, City of Thieves - Freeform, Computer Wiz Marceline, Crossover, Destiny, Drama, F/F, F/M, Ghosts, Magic Nail, Steven Universe crossover, The vault
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-08 05:27:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 10,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5485286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zelderon/pseuds/Zelderon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A lot can happen in a thousand years.</p><p>A collection of short stories I wrote for all the prompts of 12 Days of Bubbline. </p><p>Newest Chapters<br/>Day 10: Adventuring Together<br/>Preview: “Psh, you call that a beating? Between Piggly Wiggly and Porky’s love taps, I almost fell asleep. Besides, I knew you would come to rescue me, because deep down you’re actually a good person."</p><p>Day 11: Past Lives/Species Switch AU<br/>Preview: Before he could disengage with his dead opponent, he was knocked to the side by an avalanche of solid wood and muscle. One of his swords was still stuck in the dead retiarius when he fell onto his back into the dirt. The impact winded him and he was gasping for air when the murmillo stood over him and prepared to acquaint his jugular with a legionnaire gladius.</p><p>Day 12: Asking Each Other Out/First Date<br/>Preview: “Wha-? I do not get drunk. I have never gotten drunk. I am a princess.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Consquences

**Author's Note:**

> Submission for Day 1 of 12 Days of Bubbline.

_“Mother,”_ whispered a voice like cold mountain streams and ancient pine forests.

Princess Bubblegum looked up from her papers strewn across her bed. A letter from the Duke of Nuts fell off the foot of her bed and ghosted to the ground like a feather, making a soft ruffling noise as it hit the floor. The curtains across her windows fluttered in the night breeze, occasionally allowing moonlight shine onto her floor. Science was snuggled next to her on a pillow, but other than her rat she was alone.

“ _Princess,”_ commanded an unyielding voice with the gleam of metal and the scent of millenia.

“Who’s there?” Princess Bubblegum whipped out her pillow gun. The smooth steel was cool against her fingers. “Show yourselves.”

 _“Princess, have you forgotten us already? We’re always with you,_ ” the silky voice spilled into her head like deep red wine.

“BANANA GUA-,” Princess Bubblegum suddenly found herself unable to speak. She willed herself to call for her guards, but there was some sort of barrier preventing her from moving her mouth no matter how much pressure she pushed against it. An infinite wall of pink iron stretched before her. She touched it with her hand and realized it wasn’t metal, it was bubbleg-.

“ _Sister, I thought we agreed to not use our powers against Mother,”_ the first voice said with the howl of wolves and sharpness of a blizzard.

 _“But she won’t listen to us unless we MAKE her,”_ the second voice was like raining crystals striking sharply against glass.

_“Sister, remember the Agreement.”_

_“Fine.”_

Princess Bubblegum gasped and touched her face once she regained control of her body. For a moment, her heavy breaths were the only sounds in her bedroom. She recognized at least one of those voices.

“Hello, Goliad,” Princess Bubblegum said calmly.

“ _Well, it seems like her highness hasn’t forgotten us, yet.”_

Princess Bubblegum found herself in a black void. There was no light, there not even darkness. There was nothing. Then Goliad and Stormo walked towards her out of the nothing.

 _“It’s nice to see you, Mother.”_ said Stormo without opening his sharp beak.

“What’s going on? Why aren’t you two still locked in your psychic duel?”

“ _Ha, see how ignorant she is, Brother? Why do we continue to let her rule. It would be so much more efficient if we just took over.”_

 _“Mother, we have an important message.”_ Goliad ignored his sibling’s comment. Goliad’s face contorted briefly with frustration, before she schooled it into a calm lake and looked away into the nothingness. “ _Goliad and I have seen beyond the veil. If you continue to pursue your relationship with the Queen of Vampires there will be consequences even we cannot foresee.”_

“What are you talking about? What veil?”

“ _When we first learned of your relationship with the Last of the Vampires, Stormo and I were bored so we made a little wager on how long it would last.”_ Princess Bubblegum narrowed her eyes into knives. “ _We ventured to the Spindle of Fate. We both stood on the Eternal Wheel as it spun and looked into the starry Pool of Destiny.”_

 _“Mother, it seems you and Marceline stand on the precipice of kismet. What you two do next will have a profound impact on the forking paths of an infinite number of universes._ ”

“Why are you telling me this? What else do you know?” Princess looked at her towering creations before her and took a small step backwards, dragging her foot against an unseen floor.

“ _Princess, we aren’t here to tell you whether or not you should continue associating with the Vampire. We are merely here to inform you that your actions have consequences.”_

Stormo appeared as if he was about to speak again, but before he could say anything, Princess Bubblegum was torn away from that lonely plane. When she opened her eyes, she was back in her bedroom. The flame of the lantern next to her twitched.

“Stormo? Goliad?” the Princess of Candy asked her empty room. Her curtains murmured in the wind and Science shifted in her sleep. 

Princess Bubblegum walked over to her window and opened the curtains. From her tower, she could see the stark silhouettes of two candy sphinxes and the glow of their unbroken conflict.


	2. We Are Going to Have Lots of Fun, You and I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Day 2 of 12 Days of Bubbline: Human AU

“Oh my god. Marceline you have to get on Facebook right now!” Ellis Preston yelled into my ear through my phone. 

“What the heck Ellis, it’s only,” I looked at my phone. Crap, it was already 1 PM, “What’s so important that you had to call me.”

“Marceline, someone made a fake account under your name. They’ve been posting nudes of you since this morning!”

“WHAT???!!!” I screeched into the phone before immediately kicking off my tangled sheets. I lunged at my laptop and ripped it open. I almost punched a hole through the wall of my apartment when I saw my Facebook page load. 

“Ellis, I gotta go,” I said, hanging up on her and dialing Ash. The dial tone sounded several times before a slick voice answered.

“Hello, MarMar. How’s it going?”

“Ash, you piece of crap. I know what you did. You better take those pictures down,” I yelled into the phone.

“Or what? What are you gonna do about it Marmar? Call the cops?” 

“Maybe I will!” I mashed the hangup button and dialed 911.

“Hello, this is 911. What’s your emergency?”

“I uh-,” I stuttered and cleared my throat, “My ex-boyfriend just posted a bunch of naked pictures of me on Facebook.”

“Alright, ma’am. I’m going to transfer your to the county police station.”

I waited several soul-rending moments on hold while some bland poppy trash played over the phone. Finally, a human voice crackled through.

“Hello, this is Detective Bana, how can I help you?”

“Yes, hi. I need to report my boyfriend Ash Bennington for posting inappropriate pictures of me online. He also posted my home address and telephone numbers along with my place of work.

A heavy sigh left the phone’s speaker, “These cases are extremely difficult to prosecute. There aren’t any specific laws against this sort of thing in our state. Even if we’re able to prove he did it, I’m not sure what he’ll end up being charged with. Are you sure you want to do this? Your best bet might just be to ignore him. Maybe call Facebook’s tech support to get them to remove the account or something.”

I hung up and slammed my phone into my desk. I took a deep breath and turned to face my computer. I cracked my fingers and got to work.

2 days later, the fake account was deleted and every trace of the pictures Ash posted had been scoured from the internet and the phones and computers of those who had downloaded them. Every single file and program on Ash’s phone and computer was corrupted, although several had been saved to an untraceable, remote device for future use. Ash’s name and picture appeared on several no-fly lists and sex offender registries. Whoever was assigned to removing these unauthorized entries was in for a fun time.

I was about to lay down for a well-deserved nap when someone knocked at my door. I went to go answer it and was met by a stern looking woman in a black suit with black sunglasses. Her wavy brown hair was tied up in a ponytail without a single sprig undone.

“Are you Marceline Abadeer?” asked a voice that commanded nothing short of the truth.

“Yes,” I said nervously, very aware of my uncombed mane of hair and my rarely washed sweatpants. One of my hands reached down to readjust my tank top to attempt to salvage my appearance. 

“You’ve been quite a busy bee over the past couple of days. I have to say I’m impressed. Not many people could rack up enough felonies to guarantee them over 5 lifetimes of consecutive prison sentences within the span of 48 hours,” the woman said with a chuckle like little bells in the wind.

“Wait, what? Who are you and what do you want?” I fidgeted at my shirt, kneading the cheap cotton between my fingers.

“Wow, looks like kitty has some fight in her,” the woman took off her sunglasses and winked at me. She had clear blue eyes and with flecks of mischief and intrigue.

“You can call me Bonnibel. I’d like to hire you for a job. You and I are going to have lots of fun, Marceline Abadeer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IDK how I feel about this one.


	3. Ghosts of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marceline is being hunted down by one of the most dangerous people in Ooo. Bonnibel is just trying to build a home for herself and her children.

“So let me get this straight, you desecrated the tomb of the most powerful ghost in the entire Nightosphere and now you need a place to hide out?” Bonnibel said without looking up from her blueprints for her new city.

“Oh, come on when you phrase it like that it sounds bad,” Marceline floated next to Bonnibel’s head, “besides I know you’re going to help because you can’t resist my raw charm and animal magnetism.”

Bonnibel rolled her eyes and brushed away a clump of Marceline’s hair that was covering the western ramparts. She was in the process of designing embrasures so that her banana guards could deploy cannon fire against threats to her new kingdom while still being protected at the same time. She had an old beaten textbook on pre-Mushroom War Medieval architecture at her side that MARCELINE WAS CURRENTLY FLIPPING THROUGH!

“Hey, stop doing that, you’ll lose my place. I'm doing important work right now. Unlike you, I have real citizens to take care of, _Vampire Queen._ ”

“Hey, chill out _princess_. I’m just trying to help,” Marceline tossed the book down with a thump that made Bubblegum wince at the thought of precious knowledge disintegrating with the fragile pages, “Look, you should use inverted keyhole embrasures. That way you can use them for both arrows and whatever crazy cannon weapons you’ve cooked up.”

Princess Bubblegum studied the textbook for a few seconds and looked at her schematics. She grumbled to herself before getting out a new sheaf of paper to redraw her designs.

“So anyways, do you have a cot or something I could sleep in while I’m laying low here?” Marceline said while letting the tip of her hair trickle in front of Bubblegum’s face.

Bubblegum sighed and rang a small tin bell. A rectangular lavender candy person with long lanky limbs entered the room.

“My leader, do you need something?”

“Yes, Grape Taffy, I need to you to go find some extra blankets and bring them here.”

“Yes, my leader,” it bowed before walking out of the room.

“What no cot? Not even a crate for your old pal Marceline to rest her tired head?” Marceline vaulted away from Bonnibel and wiped away an imaginary tear, “Also, have you even heard of the concept of creativity. What kind of name is Grape Taffy?”

“I’ll have you know he picked it himself. I’ve been letting my people name themselves but most of them decided they wanted names that were easy to remember. It’s all Candy Corn guy’s fault; he started it.”

Bonnibel turned around to face Marceline, “And I don’t want to make him carry a bed for you all the way up here. My peeps have been hard at work all day building their new home. Grape Taffy volunteered to help me with errands but I know he must be as tired as the rest of them.”

“Why don’t you just make servants for yourself, princess?” Marceline floated over to look at an unfinished wall, “You could just whip up an army of spearmint maids or something that lab of yours.

“Because I don’t have the resources to waste on such frivolous things. If you haven’t noticed, I’m building an entire civilization from scratch. And stop calling me ‘princess’, you sound ridiculous.”

“Of course, your wish is my command prin-,” Marceline was cut off by a bright light that suddenly coalesced between the two of them. Bonnibel shaded her eyes as two large ghosts stepped out of the portal that had appeared in her bedroom.

“Marceline, Ghost King wants his amulet back. Give it to us now and we’ll go easy on you,” the taller of the two hulking ghosts said. “Just surrender now, vampire. You know you can’t win this fight.”

Before Marceline could respond, Bonnibel moved to stand in front of her. She had a gold and blue gun in front of her pointed at the ghost who had just spoken. “You tell your boss that if he or any of his goons ever come near Marceline, they’ll have to go through me.”

The two ghosts looked at each other before bursting out in harsh, cruel laughter. The other burly ghost who hadn’t spoken yet said, “What are you going to do about it candy gir-”

Bonnibel pulled the trigger before he could finish speaking and bright ray of light shot out of the muzzle. The ghost’s face contorted into a silent scream as he evaporated into thin air and disappeared. The other ghost turned to Bonnibel and yelled, “What did you do to Carl?”

“Why don’t you stick around and find out,” Bonnibel smirked and pointed the gun him. The ghost yelled and jumped back into the portal it came from. The swirling otherworldly lights disappeared and Bonnibel and Marceline were alone once more. Both of them were breathing heavily when Grape Taffy opened the door and walked in with a large bundle of blankets and sheets.

“I have the blankets you requested. Is there anything else you need?”

Bonnibel smoothed down her hair and took the blankets, “No that’s it, thank you. Go get some sleep, G Taff.”

“Goodnight, my leader,” Grape Taffey said. He bowed his head slightly before leaving.

“I can’t believe you’re complaining about me calling you princess when all your little subjects are calling you ‘my leader.’ Bonnibel threw the pile of blankets into Marceline’s chest. Marceline easily caught them and begins preparing a nest next to Bonnibel’s bed.

“What on earth was that thing you used against that ghost goon?” Marceline said as she took off her tunic and wadded it up into a makeshift pillow.

“Well, after you told me a couple years ago that vampires are particularly vulnerable to ghosts, I figured that someday I’d probably have to save your sorry butt from at least one of them so I made this,” Bonnibel held out her weapon to Marceline so she could look at it closer. “It disrupts the bonds that keep ghosts tethered to this plane of existence.”

“Woah, so then what happens to them?” Marceline said as she inspected Bonnibel’s invention.

“I’m not quite sure, but I know that once I zap them with this baby, they don’t come back,” Bonnibel put the gun back into its hiding spot in her weapons safe underneath her bed. “You probably shouldn’t hide here anymore since the Ghost King obviously knows you’re here. Why don’t you go to your dad’s castle?”

Marceline yawned and laid down in her makeshift bed. “Nah, I doubt that the Ghost King or his goons are going to come after me any time soon after that ghost goes back and tells everyone what happened. Besides, I just got comfortable. I’ll deal with it in the morning.”

“You’re lucky I had this temporary roof put in place here so you won’t have to worry about the sun,” Princess Bubblegum said as she changed into her pajamas. “Anyways, what was that ghost talking about when he mentioned that amulet? Don’t tell me you stole something from the Ghost King in addition to wrecking up his mausoleum.”

“Yeah, I wanted it to be a surprise but I guess that tranch ruined it,” Marceline reached into her pants pocket and drew out an amulet with a gold chain and a smooth blue gemstone. It was as flat as a pancake and about the size of Bonnibel’s palm. “I know you’ve been trying to figure out a way to power those freaky gumball guardians of yours and so I snagged this for you.”

Marceline handed it to Bonnibel. It was cold against her skin and smelled like old iron. Bonnibel put it on over her night shirt and inspected the large blue gem that matched the one on her crown.

“Wow, thank you Marceline. This means a lot.”

Bonnibel was met only with gentle snores. She sighed and went back to organizing her new utopia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Vampires can't beat ghosts. It's like a rock-paper-scissors thing."
> 
> In “The Vault” one of the banana guards calls PB “my leader” instead of princess, so I took that to mean she hadn’t officially starting calling herself “princess” either. Marceline calls her princess just to mess with her and I guess the title eventually catches on.
> 
> I know the Adventure Time comics talked about PB’s amulet a lot but they technically aren’t part of the show canon, so yeahhhh.


	4. Topaz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 12 Days of Bubbline  
> Day 4 - Proposal/Wedding

“Allo, can I help you with something, miss?” asked a well-dressed chocolate-dipped strawberry in her characteristic French accent. Marceline’s eyes swept back and forth across the store before coming to rest on the top button of Chocoberry’s blazer. 

“I’m just looking around.” Marceline drifted over to the front counter and examined the transparent glass. She fingered the seam of her pants running down the side of her leg and looked closely into the glass, careful to not touch and smug the meticulously clean barrier.

Chocoberry shrugged and moved over to where Marceline was floating.

“Do you see anything you like? I could take something out of the case for you to get a closer look.” 

“Hrmmm,” Marceline tucked an unruly lock of inky hair behind her ear, “can you just show me your most popular one? What do you think most ladies would like?”

Chocoberry ducked her head down to hide her knowing smile and unlocked the case. She took out a platinum banded ring with one large diamond in the center flanked by a ring of smaller ones. 

“How is this one?” Chocoberry placed it carefully into Marceline’s hand. Marceline pinched it between her thumb and forefinger, twisting it back and forth in front of her face.

“Hmm, do you think this would look good against pink?” Marceline asked. Chocoberry was about to respond when the bell to her shop tinkled lightly.

“Oh, good morning princess. Are you here to pick up the gems you ordered?” Chocoberry went into her back room and for a few moments, Princess Bubblegum and Marceline stood in silence (or floated in Marceline’s case).

“So what brings you here Marceline?” Princess Bubblegum asked while looking at the ring in Marceline’s hand.

“Uhm, well I uhmm, the thing is...I’m robbing this store. Yep, I need the cash to buy this sick new bass I saw the other day.”

Princess Bubblegum raised one of her eyebrows and Marceline coughed.

“That is to say, I mean I saw some mutant ghost robot space pirates robbing Chocoberry’s store so I jumped in and stopped them,” Marceline puffed out her chest with false bravado, “They ran off as soon as they saw me.”

Princess Bubblegum continued just looking at Marceline.

“Fine you got me,” Marceline sighed dramatically, “I recently developed a crippling pixie dust addiction, so I actually was here to pawn off some of my things to get money for drugs.”

Chocoberry came back out into the store with a plain wooden crate. Princess Bubblegum handed her a pouch of coins that jingled when she placed them on the spotless counter. Princess Bubblegum tucked the crate underneath one arm and turned to leave the store. She opened the door with another jingle and paused for a moment before leaving.

“By the way Marceline, I like topaz.”


	5. The Hollow Turtle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 5 - First Sight

Bonnibel adjusted the hood of her cloak to make sure it was covering her face. She walked quickly through the grimy streets, her solid leather boots splashing in the odd puddle of filth. She looked up briefly towards the sky at the yellow and orange plates of some long dead turtle that filtered the sunlight and cast everything in a sickly amber glow.

She clutched her belt purse tightly as she made her way to a very particular store. The outside was explicitly unremarkable. The building was little more than a plywood shack with a tin roof tucked between two nondescript warehouses. Upon entering however, Bonnibel found herself in a room far larger than she could have ever imagined. It was filled with towering shelves upon shelves of strange artefacts and ingredients.

She walked down one aisle filled with exotic furs and scrolls. She accidentally brushed against one pelt and had to jump backwards quickly to avoid getting slashed by a tiger’s paw. Bonnibel drew her cloak closer to herself and hurried to find the store owner. When she finally reached the end of the aisle, she found the shopkeeper standing behind a dark wooden counter cleaning a silver chalice with a light blue cloth.

“Are you Askel?” Bonnibel asked.

The shopkeeper paused and put down the chalice and cloth away somewhere behind the counter. 

“It depends. What do you want?”

“I’m here to buy a rare manuscript,” Bonnibel unhooked her bag of coins from her belt and dropped it on the counter, “A little birdie told me you have a first edition copy of the memoirs of Carborough the Lifegiver. I’d like to take it off your hands.”

The shopkeeper paused for a moment and looked into the bag. He stuck a long bony finger into the soft canvas pouch and pushed the golden coins back and forth a few times before closing it.

“Zelig, go fetch what the lady wants,” he said with a clap of his hands. A small manticore swooped down from one of the shelves and landed on the counter with a small dusty leather tomb clutched between his paws. 

“I want to inspect the book before I buy it.”

“Yes, yes of course, here take it.”

Bonnibel opened the book and started skimming, looking for the page that would unlock the secrets that could make her dream a reality. Her hand paused in the middle of flipping a page when she felt the edge of a cold iron knife press against the skin directly beneath her chin.

“You’re going to leave the book and the money on the counter right here and walk out of my store very slowly. This enchanted knife is going to follow you until you’re on streets and gone from the city. I would suggest you forget about this place and get on with your life,” the shopkeeper said in a low whisper.

Bonnibel stiffened and kicked herself for falling into such a predictable trap. Her mind raced to find a way to outsmart the aquamarine troll in front of her, but she was at a loss for what to do. Seeing no other way out of the situation, she started backing away from the desk slowly. She thought of the various hidden weapons strapped to her arms and legs but couldn’t think of a way to use them without the knife slashing into her neck.

“That’s right lady just keep walking. Zelig, go put this book back wherever you fou-” a small gust brushed his scraggly hair sideways before the troll’s entire head slowly slid off his neck and hit the floor at his feet. The knife at Bonnibel’s neck fell to the ground, clattering on the slate floor. 

Bonnibel was stunned speechless and froze where she stood. A thin wisp of a girl with black hair tied up into a loose, messy braid appeared out of thin air next to her. In one hand, she lazily held a massive, red axe. Blood dripped from its edge and pooled at Bonnibel’s feet. The girl chuckled and poked Bonnibel’s nose with her free hand.

“I think the appropriate response is ‘Thank you’. Geeze, you should’ve seen yourself waltzing around this city with that huge bag of dosh,” the girl held up her hand to stall Bonnibel’s protests, “Even a blind thief could have noticed the bulge it made in that tacky cloak of yours. You’re lucky I decided to tail you here out of the goodness of my heart. I knew someone was gonna try to gank it from you.”

Before Bonnibel could respond a small coal black crocodile, slithered out of a hole in the side of the counter. As he stood up on his hind legs he began to expand in size. He soon towered over the two of them and looked down at the slain troll with cold, reptilian eyes. 

“How dare you slay my minion! I am Askel the Collector and I will not be trifled with,” he said, flexing a pair of spiked cosmic gauntlets. He fired a blast of mystic energy at the pair of tall girls.

The black haired girl roughly wrapped an arm around Bonnibel’s thin waist and pulled her backwards to dodge the blast. She released Bonnibel and brandished her axe in front of her, preparing to attack. Bonnibel pulled out the pair of long knives that were strapped to her forearms and sized up the new threat. The girl looked over at Bonnibel and flashed her a wolfish grin.

“By the way, the name’s Marceline. Marceline the Vampire Queen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all recognize the city they're in.


	6. The End and The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 12 Days of Bubbline
> 
> Day 6 - Crossover

“Steven, get back over here!” Pearl screamed as unearthly wind whipped around them. Giant bolts of lightning the size of Sugilite shot out of the widening crack in the Geode, forcing the gem warriors to constantly run and dodge around them like insects.

Steven scrambled out of Pearl’s strong arms and ran over to the ever expanding fissure. Pearl barely dodged another lightning bolt but was stunned and thrown back against a boulder with enough force to break it into pieces. Garnet jumped towards her and after a moment of hesitation picked up Pearl’s unconscious body and used her gauntlets to crush her corporeal projection. She bubbled her gem and sent her back to the temple and relative safety. 

As Steven darted toward the Geode his hands began glowing bright pink. A bolt of lightning from the fallen comet struck out directly at him. Peridot screamed. The lightning ricocheted off his shield and struck the Geode, creating a new crack. Steven stumbled for a moment but kept running until he reached the giant sphere. 

He paused for a moment and gazed at the roiling chaos energy radiating out of the ancient rock. It swept his hair back and hurt his eyes. He took a step forward, against the clawing wind trying to drag him backwards, and placed both hands on the meteorite. An explosion of light erupted from his stomach and covered the entire goliath in a pink glow. A second later the entire rock exploded within the shield, breaking the rose quartz magic and-and destroying everything around it for thousands of miles.

Master Sergeant Lieutenant Peterson was flying at the head of his flight when he saw the earth explode in front of him. The resulting pressure waves knocked most of his men out of the sky. As his plane flipped through the air, he could see a giant humanoid shape with curled horns rise upwards from the direction of their objective. Rocks the size of countries flew the air around him.

Airman First Class Adams was among the planes were able to maneuver around the debris hurtling through the air. He heard the command to release his nuclear payload crackle over the radio. When he looked down at the aftermath, a great charred body was hunched over on its knees. It slowly rose back up and he looked into its hollow dark eyes. Green fires burned over its body.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Come on, Bubblegum hike faster.”

“Well some of us can’t fly, Marceline,” Princess Bubblegum said as she stumbled over another rock. “I’d like to make it there in one piece.”

“Don’t be such a wimp, Bonnibel,” Marceline said before hooking her arms underneath the other pink woman and lifting her off the ground. “Come on princess, we’re almost there.”

“I don’t see why you had to drag me all the way out here into the middle of nowhere.”

“Trust me, you’ll love it.”

The pair flew over the rocky, lifeless terrain until they reached a small hill of boulders. Marceline landed in front of a doorway and gently lowered Bubblegum to the ground. Bubblegum walked up to the entrance and peered inside. There were large crystals growing out of the walls and a long tunnel leading deep into the ground.

Marceline started flying down the tunnel and looked back at Bubblegum expectantly.

“Well, are you coming?”


	7. Do you think she'll like it?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 7 - Ex's/Romantic Rivals

Marceline strummed her banjolele and floated through the balmy summer night. She did a small flip in the air and hummed some lullaby, floating upside down. She sighed contentedly and tugged on her duffel bag strap so that it hung more comfortably from her shoulder. One of her bat-like ears twitched at the sounds of laughter down below her.

She swooped down to get a closer look closer at the two boys roasting marshmallows. She chuckled to herself and felt the subtle shift as her skin became invisible. Slowly creeping up on the young boy and the magical dog, her arms and legs elongated. Hair grew all over her body and insectile legs sprouted from her back. Her fangs elongated and sharpened and her eyes became as sharp as razor blades. She positioned herself behind Jake and filled her lungs with air. Her claws loomed over his head and-

“Oh, hiya Marceline. Did you come out here to hang with us?” the Ice King said, landing next to the fire with a box of graham crackers and a bag of chocolate bars. 

Marceline sighed in frustration and dispelled the magic keeping herself invisible. Jake screamed. Finn laughed. Ice King smiled.

“So, you two are hanging out with the Ice King now?” Marceline settled down next to Jake and leaned on his head with both arms propping up her chin.

“Yeah, I let these two nerds start rolling with me,” Ice King leaned in next to Marceline ear, “Between you and me, I feel kind of sorry for them.”

“Hey, Marceline you should join us,” Finn’s mouth and hands are covered in sticky marshmallow goop. He opens his backpack and starts digging around. “I think I have an apple in here somewhere.”

“Sure, why not. I’ve been working on a new song and I need a break,” Marceline propped up her banjolele on her knee. “I’ve been having some mad writer’s block.”

“Yeah, I know what you’re feeling Marceline,” Jake’s eyes looked up at Marceline, “it took me and Finn forever to come up with a good present for PB’s birthday.” Jake reached into some unseen pocket on his body and pulls out a blue sweater. There’s a crudely stitched heart on it that would probably have covered PB’s candy heart if Finn hadn’t accidentally sewn it on the wrong side. There’s also three sleeves: two as wide as the neck hole and one as narrow as Marceline’s index finger. A pair of daggers suddenly shoot out of the sleeves and a burst of fire erupts from the heart.

“What the stuff, man!” Jake yelled while flinging the sweater away from him, “I thought you said you wouldn’t use any magic nails.”

“Hey, be careful with it. I spent a long time knitting that thing.” Finn jumped up and carefully folded it into his backpack. “Anyways, this way PB is going to actually like it,” Finn laughed and leaned back against a log with his arms crossed behind his head, “Normal sweaters are lame, dude.”

“Oh yeah,” Jake’s face crumpled and narrowed into a smirk, “but you didn’t think the sweater Bubblegum gave you was lame.”

“Yeah, but that sweater’s special. It helped us defeat the Lich that one time,” Finn blushed. “It’s filled with the power of liking someone a lot.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it is,” Jake’s smirk becomes manic. Finn tackled him and the two roll around in the dirt, laughing and rough housing.

“Pfff, I was the one who froze the Lich after he took over Princess Bubblegum’s bod,” the Ice King pulls something out of his robes, “Look at the cool scrapbook I made for her.” 

Most of the pictures of Bubblegum look like they’ve been taken by someone hiding inside bushes and without Bubblegum’s knowledge. Marceline smirked. Bubblegum hated taking candid photos. Marceline thumbed through several pages, carefully prying apart the ones where Simon didn’t wait long enough to dry. On one page, several of them appear to be of a fist getting progressively closer to the camera lens.

Then there’s one that Simon is actually in. He has his arm hooked around Bubblegum and a goofy smile on his face. They’re surrounded by medical equipment and hospital beds. Underneath the photo, Simon scrawled “Thanks for the New Heart” in crayon.

Finn pinned Jake underneath himself and looked up at Marceline with a silly smile on his face and his bear hat slightly askew.

“Do you think she’ll like it, Marceline?”


	8. The Eternal Plain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 8: Star-Crossed Love

Marceline sipped at her mug of milk tea. Even though she no longer could no longer use it for sustenance, it was one of the few treats she still enjoyed as a vampire. She was sitting next to her dad in a soft, old beaten corduroy armchair. Her father sat across from her in a similarly homey, warm set up. The decor of the-the room clashed with the rest of the house and Nightosphere. The room was sealed so that the only noises Marceline could hear were the crackle of the fireplace and the crunch of her dad’s teeth as he systematically consumed a plate of chocolate chip cookies. There were no wails of the tortured or cries of the various demons who inhabited her father’s domain. 

“You should visit more often Marceline,” her father began, brushing off a crumb from his dark suit, “It gets boring down here sometimes. All this wonderful chaos gets old after a few millennia. There isn’t even anything left down here to fight and bend to my control.”

He snapped his fingers and a new batch of strawberry jam cookies on the plate next to Marceline. She reached over to grab one and saw a small framed picture of herself sitting on the same end table. She picked it up and inspected it. She looked about 8 years old in the picture. She was standing next to a pond and feeding ducks with one hand while holding Hambo with the other. Hambo’s right eye was missing.

“Dad, what did I tell you about making fake pictures of me. It’s super creepy. Plus, you got Hambo’s eye wrong.” 

“What’s wrong with a father wanting to have pictures of his little girl,” Hunson Abadeer waved his hand and the little blue button on the left side of Hambo’s face jumped to the right.

“Why did you ask me to come here, dad?” Marceline asked. She put down her mug and stood up. The winking cartoon cat on the side smiled at her.

The Lord of Evil sighed and stood up. The sentimental trinkets and souvenirs lining the walls disappeared. The warm red brick and walnut paneling was replaced with rough grey rock. The plush carpets melted away and hard slate took their place. The smell of brimstone and terror entered Marceline’s nose and the sounds of screaming and of ancient horrors filtered in through the window. Some great demon shifted in flames that had begun burning long before even her father was born.

“Can’t you even humor your old man?” Marceline’s dad asked, bending down to adjust the spines on one of his old trophies. “Did I ever tell you about the time I fought this guy right here? I had to track old Szelezon for decades before I found him and he almost got me, too.” Marceline’s dad rolled up his sleeve and showed her a vicious scar running up his arm from his wrist to his elbow. 

“Dad, you’ve told me that story a billion times already. You tracked him down to the bottom of some lake and fought him for 7 years straight before you finally got close enough to eviscerate him. Then you skinned him and turned him into a throw rug,” Marceline looked at his arm, “Besides, you’re deathless, dad. That scar’s not even real; why do you keep that thing around?”

“Marceline, one day when you’re as old as me you’ll understand,” Hunson draped his arm around his daughter’s shoulder, “my little monster.”

Marceline shrugged off his arm. “Dad, why am I here?”

Hunson Abadeer sighed once more, “Marceline, I need to talk to you about something. I know you’ve been seeing that candy princess a lot lately.”

“Dad, her name is Bonnibel.”

“Right, well, take it from me,” Hunson rubbed his hands through his hair, “you need to be careful.”

“Dad,” Marceline moved a step away from him and leaned against the open window sill, “What are you talking about?”

“Marceline, when you were born your mother had a dream about you. ”

“What like with the Cosmic Owl?”

Hunson laughed and looked out the window, “The Cosmic Owl is only the idiot servant of a far greater power. No, this message was far too important to trust to him. It concerns your inheritance.”

“If you’re trying to convince to put on that amulet again-”

“Do not interrupt me, Marceline,” Hunson yelled and Marceline took another step away from him. Her father’s face softened and he placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“Marceline, you know I love you. I want you to be happy, but I won’t always be around.”

Marceline frowned and creases appeared at her eyes. She hugged her dad’s arm, “Dad, I…” a small voice cracked.

“Marceline, you and...Bonnibel...are going to live for a very long. But you two cannot stay together forever.” Once more the lord of evil looked out the window and sighed. 

“You know just as well as I do that nothing lasts forever. I’m sorry you were born into this cycle. I’m sorry you have inherited this loneliness.”

“But can’t someone else do it instead? Can’t you find another heir?”

“You know as well as I do that no one else can bear this burden,” Abadeer polished the pink amulet around his throat and looked out at the desolate plains, “Our family must pay the price for our power.”


	9. Responsibility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 9 - Slice of Life/Children

Peppermint Butler loads up a wicker picnic basket into the back of the carriage with a loud thump. Marceline adjusts her sun umbrella and raises an eyebrow.

“You packed quite a lot of food, Bonnie. Are you sure we’ll be able to finish it all?”

“I just like to be prepared, Marcy.” Princess Bubblegum walks up behind Marceline and laces her arms around the vampire’s neck. She rests her chin in the crook of her neck. Marceline feels Princess Bubblegum’s skin brush against her legs.

“Well, why are we taking your carriage? I could just fly us wherever we’re going.” Bubblegum’s purple jelly horse turns its head to Marceline and snorts.

“Because then it wouldn’t be a surprise.” Bubblegum lightly kisses Marceline on her neck, right over her to bite wounds, and walks over to the carriage. She pats the rotund horse a few times and gives him a sugar cube from her purse. Then, she steps into the driver’s seat and takes the reigns. Marceline floats over and sits down next to her on the marzipan seat.

The jelly horse begins walking with its small stubby legs, although Marceline isn’t entirely sure they actually touch the ground. She decides not to question how it’s able to make such a good pace. Fields and little houses pass by in short order as they make their way through the countryside. She takes out a bottle of the special sunscreen Bubblegum made her and begins applying a new coat of it to her skin. She sets the bottle down on the space between her and Bubblegum. Marceline notices something odd sitting next to the picnic basket Bubblegum prepared.

“Bonnie, are we playing baseball or something after lunch?”

Princess Bubblegum sighs. “Marceline, I have something to tell you. I invited Lemongrab to join us today for our picnic.”

Marceline is silent for a few moments and chooses her next words carefully. “I didn’t know you two hung out?”

“I’ve been trying to have a bigger role in his life lately,” Princess Bubblegum looks down at her hands, “I know I haven’t given him as much attention as my other citizens, and I want to fix that.”

Marceline isn’t exactly sure of what to say. She doesn’t want to reignite old arguments about duty and parenthood. The subject is too close to her. “Well, I’m happy you two are getting along better these days. But what’s with all the baseball gear?”

“It’s a long story,” Bubblegum says as Castle Lemongrab comes into view. “I wanted you to come along because for whatever reason I think he actually likes you.”

Marceline isn’t sure of what to do with that information. She’s never really talked to Lemongrab before and she’s only actually seen him a few times. The last time she saw him, he was walking away from the Candy Kingdom right before dawn. They exchanged a glance but he didn’t say anything to her.

Lemongrab is sitting on his lemon camel next to small pond right outside of his castle. He watches them come to a stop in front of him unblinkingly before jumping off his camel in one swift movement. He folds his hands together and gives small nods to both Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. “Hello, Princess Bubblegum, Queen Marceline. Welcome to the Earldom of Lemongrab. I hope your journey was uneventful.” 

“Hello, Lemongrab,” Bubblegum greets Lemongrab using her oversweet, generic princess voice. It’s the one she uses with strangers. It sounds too polite to Marceline, too much like her kindergarten teacher from before the war. “Thank you for joining us for lunch.”

Bubblegum’s jelly horse and the lemon camel sniff each other for a moment but then decide to ignore each other. Princess Bubblegum reaches into the back of the carriage and takes out the picnic basket and a red and white checkered blanket. She jumps down and spreads the blanket across the grass.

Lemongrab appraises it for a moment before nodding his head. He reaches into his camel’s saddlebags and pulls out a plastic bag full of little lemon candies. He meticulously places it next to the food Bubblegum is laying out in the grass. His head turns towards Marceline, but she notices the rest of his body below his neck doesn’t move in the slightest.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t bring anything red for you, vampire queen. My kingdom only produces lemons. If it will suffice, feel free to partake of my own lemon blood,” he says before indicate his neck with one hand.

“Woah, woah it’s cool Lemongrab. And you can just call me Marceline.” Marceline says as she floats down next to the two of them. Lemongrabs head tracks her movement the entire time.

Bubblegum adds a tad too quickly, “And you can just call be Bonnibel.”

Lemongrab looks at the two of them blankly for a moment. He blinks and Marceline internally winces when the motion of the two eyelids is slightly out of sync with the other. “Yes, of course. Marceline. Bonnibel.”

Bubblegum offers Lemongrab a sandwich. He holds it in both hands before taking a single bite from it without removing the plastic wrap covering it. He nods his head in approval and tucks it into his clothes. Marceline eyes the white and black diamond pinned onto the right side of his chest. Princess Bubblegum decides to break the silence.

“So, Lemongrab, how are you doing lately?”

“Mmm, Lemongrab is running very acceptably. Everything is efficient and orderly, everyone has their own job. Lemon production is at an all-time high.”

Marceline drains the red from an apple and flicks it into the pond with a plop. “I think what Bonnie is trying to ask is how are you doing personally, Lemongrab,” Marceline winks at him, “Got any new lady lemon friends?”

“Lady lemons…?” Lemongrab looks thoughtfully at his bag of lemon candy. He eats a handful of candies from it before handing it to Bubblegum. The loud crunching noises punctuate the silence. Bubblegum takes a single piece of candy out and puts it into her mouth. By the way her cheek twitches, Marceline can tell that it’s far too sour for her tastes, but Bubblegum smiles and tells Lemongrab it's delicious. Lemongrab’s face shifts and he almost looks happy. He claps his hands and a small lemon person runs out of the castle gates and takes the bag before returning to the castle.

Lemongrab looks at Marceline for a moment and then her umbrella. “Why do you not have one of your citizens hold your umbrella for you? Why do you do it yourself?”

 

Marceline laughs, “I’m not some prissy, high maintenance princess. I don’t need to be waited on hand and foot. I noticed you came out here on your own, without servants.”

Lemongrab stares at her a bit longer than what would normally be considered polite. “Yes, well there are some things that one must do one’s own.”

Princess Bubblegum pulls out her duffel bag full of baseball equipment and asks Lemongrab if he wants to play. She hands him a catcher’s mitt and he looks at it for several seconds. Lemongrab turns to Marceline and invites her to play with them but she declines. She stays by the lake and watches Bubblegum play catch with Lemongrab. Even the horse and camel seem mildly interested in watching their masters’ game.

Lemongrab is not particularly good at catching or throwing the ball. At one point the ball even hits him in the stomach with enough force to make him double over and clutch his midsection. Bubblegum runs over to him with a worried expression but he just laughs and laughs. It’s very unnatural, like if an alien was informed of the concept of laughter in a pamphlet and then told to attempt it.

The sky begins to turn orange when Lemongrab abruptly takes off his baseball mitt and drops it on the ground. He mutters something about a schedule and rides his camel back to the castle.


	10. You Owe Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 10 - Adventuring Together

Night had fallen over the Candy Kingdom. Its citizens were tucked snuggly in their beds. Even Princess Bubblegum had finally fallen asleep after a long day of failed experiments and a healthy dose of sedatives Peppermint Butler snuck into her after-dinner tea. Candy corn mice scurried in the shadows, avoiding the gaze of hungry jelly bean owls. 

The silence of the royal bedroom was broken by the ringing of Princess Bubblegum’s phone. A hand shot out of the covers and blindly fumbled across the surface of her nightstand. Her thumb mashed the “ignore call” button and once more peace descended on her highness’s kingdom. When the phone rang once more she growled and ripped the covers off of her head and answered the call.

“Listen, punk. It’s 3 AM and I got two words for you: hellfire missiles.”

“Bonnie, I * _static interference_ * help,” yelled a scratchy voice. Bubblegum’s eyes widened.

“Marcy, is that you? Where are you?”

Marceline was able to say, “No time to ex-* _static static static_ * I’m about to be captured by *s _tatic static_ * need rescue,” before the call was cut off by a roar and wood breaking. 

“Marceline? Are you there? What’s going on? Hello?” Bubblegum yelled into the phone but was answered only by the dial tone. She took out her GPS tracker from beneath her bed and turned it on. She punched in a code and soon there was a crude map of Ooo on the screen. A hard pink line traced a path from her castle to a small red blinking dot. She sighed in frustration and pressed a button next to her bed. “Peppermint Butler, I need my new tactical gear and enough food for three days in my room NOW.”

_Two Days of Hiking Through Mosquito Infested Swamps, Climbing Over Icy Mountains and Having to Answer More than one Ancient Gatekeeper’s Riddle Later_

Princess Bubblegum pressed her back against a heavy wooden crate. The rough splinters snagged at her hair and pulled at the threads of her sweater. She heard wet thwacks and vicious cursing coming from behind the crate. Bubblegum turned around and jumped up to grab the top edge of the box. She pulled herself up so that her nose brushed the top of the crate.

Several tall well-armed boar people were standing around a lone figure tied to a chair. A dark grey boar with a missing tusk swung a bat into her stomach and the dark bag covering her head jerked forward. Another boar with brown accents in his fur ripped off the sack from the captive’s head and roughly grabbed her long black hair. He pulled Marceline and the chair she was sitting in up into the air until her head was level with his ugly snout.

“Are you ready to tell us what you were trying to steal from our boss?” he snarled into her face.

A very bruised and battered Marceline pretended to yawn and probably would’ve even made a show of rubbing her eyes if her arms weren’t restrained at her sides. “I’m sorry, I was just napping and I thought I felt someone trying to wake me up.”

The brown boar punched her squarely in the face and broke her nose with a sick crunch Marceline spat a glob of blood directly into the his eye. “Did your little boyfriend over there teach you how to punch?”

He punched her once more with enough force to knock Marceline onto her side.

Marceline spat out a tooth onto the floor and laughed. “Maybe you should go home and ask your mommy for a roll of quarters.”

The boar man extended his arm out to one side and another boar handed him a wooden stake. Two other thugs picked up Marceline’s chair and set it upright once more. He held the stake next to Marceline’s heart. “I won’t ask you again. What were you doing in the boss’s mansion.”

Princess Bubblegum decided it was time to take action. She scrambled on top of the box she was using for cover and pulled out her electrode ray. She hit the boar standing over Marceline first and knocked him out before any of the other boars realized she was even there. 

She used her height advantage to stun another boar before two more rammed her box and knocked her to the hard floor. Her elbows and forearms scraped against the concrete and she quickly found herself pinned to the ground. Three hundred pounds of muscle pressed into her back and sharp hooves prevented her from moving her arms. Her electrode gun was kicked away into the shadows of the warehouse.

Then there was a sickening crack and the boar on her back slumped to the side and was thrown off of her. There were some yells that were abruptly cut off by similar sharp noises of bones breaking. By the time Bubblegum pushed herself onto her feet, she was surrounded by ten dead boars and one very smug looking vampire.

“Oh my glob, Marceline, your face,” Princess Bubblegum ran up to her and started digging in her backpack for her first aid kit.

“Whoops, I almost forgot,” Marceline’s skin rippled and her nose shifted. Soon her face was covered by flawless grey skin and all traces of the beating she took had faded. She grinned, showing a mouth full of predatory white teeth. “Ha, I knew it, you did secretly put a GPS tracker in my phone. There’s no way you could’ve found me here otherwise.” 

“What on earth are you-,” realization sparked in Bubblegum’s sleep-deprived eyes, “was this all some kind of stupid trick?!”

Marceline pointedly ignored Princess Bubblegum’s question and traced her eyes from Bubblegum’s black ski cap to her black sweater and pants all the way down to her dark boots, “Wow, nice clothes, Bonnibel. I didn’t know you shopped at “Wannabe Secret Agents and Casual Home Burglars R Us.” 

Marceline reached down and grabbed her woolly cap and pulled it over her own head. “Now I’m all set to rob a convenience store.”

“Marceline! Give that back!” Bubblegum shouted before spotting her electrode gun, grabbing it from where it had fallen and firing it at her best friend.

“Ow, that tickled,” Marceline cackled, “I can’t believe you’re wasting your time with little toy stun guns like that.”

“Killing things isn’t always the answer, you psychopath,” Princess Bubblegum sniffed, “And why did you let those pigs capture and beat the stuffing out of you? Obviously, you could’ve broken free of those ropes at any time, _Vampire Queen_.”

“Psh, you call that a beating? Between Piggly Wiggly and Porky’s love taps, I almost fell asleep. Besides, I knew you would come to rescue me, because deep down you’re actually a good person and you care about me.” Marceline traced a finger seductively along Bubblegum’s neck and chin. 

“And maybe I like it a little rough,” she said with a wink.

“Don’t be so distasteful, Marceline.” Princess Bubblegum walked past Marceline and made her way to the small side door she had used to break into the warehouse. 

“Hey, you owe me a new phone, princess. One of those thugs broke it against my face yesterday when they were trying to get me to talk. What took you so long?” Princess Bubblegum glared at Marceline.

“I think you’re starting to get fat from locking yourself in that musty laboratory all day. Tell me if I’m floating too fast for you.”

_A Much Shorter Journey Later Thanks to Some Help From Marceline’s New Diving Friend_

“Alright, Peps you owe me big time. It wasn’t easy getting PB away from the castle for so long.”

 

 

 


	11. In Every Iteration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 11 - Past Lives / Species Switch AU

_An Eye For an Eye_

Hollow lute music echoed softly in the hall of King Hammurabi. He sat on a great bronze and copper throne, flanked by imposing stone statues of lions. Several of his advisors and scribes sat in front of him on wooden benches and stools, scratching away at soft clay tablets. Soft flames flickered along the walls and cast strange shadows on the glazed brick reliefs of Hammurabi’s great deeds and conquests.

His favorite court musician sat on a cushion directly next to his king and noticed when his eyes began to flutter and his head dipped. The man gave the ruler of the greatest empire in the known world an imperceptible nudge with the edge of his instrument. Hammurabi’s eye flicked toward his favorite servant. He stood from his throne to signal the end of the day’s court session. 

_Maat_

The relentless sun shined down on the construction site and glinted off the tips of the guards’ many spears. Thousands of laborers worked to move monumental blocks of limestone across the sunbaked earth. 

Meskhenet strained against his rope and felt it cut into his skin, rubbing it raw. He grunted as he took another step forward, his muscles accumulated from years of hard farm work coiling underneath his skin. He was so hot and thirsty, but he knew it would be a long time before they would have a break to drink water and rest for a few scant moments. His throat felt as parched and dusty as the desert beneath his feet. 

He was stationed at the back of the line of men pulling the huge slab of rock. Directly behind him was the overseer and the water throwers. He envied them. Their sole duty was to throw water onto the sand in front of the moving sled to make it easier to pull. According to one of the older laborers, the job actually required a lot of skill and quick calculations to make sure the sand had the correct consistency, the perfect stiffness. He thought it was a waste of manpower and water. 

He stumbled for a moment over some unseen rock and almost fell to his knees. He had trouble standing back up and the overseer walked over to him and lashed his back with his whip. Meskhenet’s eyes watered when he stood back up and continued pulling. Black spots began to appear in his vision and the sounds around him became muffled and indistinct. Some dim far away part of his mind recognized the first signs of heat exhaustion. 

Suddenly, he felt something cool and wet splash against his heels. His thoughts crystallized and he looked behind himself for a moment, feigning to wipe his sweaty face against his shoulder. The water thrower nearest to him had an impassive face and looked intensely at his work. After he turned around he felt another refreshing caress of water, this time against the back of his knees. The overseer shouted at the clumsy water thrower, threatening to whip him.

_Come and Take Them_

“I worked with the best architects in all my lands to build my city walls. No foreign army will ever penetrate them. Daedalus himself could do no better. ”

“Yes, I have to agree. These are fine women’s quarters, indeed.”

_Morituri te Salutamus_

A dimachaerus circled around his latest opponent, nimbly dodging the thrusts of the man’s trident. He had fought in many games and knew to avoid committing himself to some ill-fated offensive. He was quick and his endurance allowed him to outlast most other gladiators so that he could wait for the perfect opening to strike. His calculating eyes flicked to and fro, attempting to keep track of his current opponent along with any fighters who neared the pair.

The colosseum was awash in blood and gore as scores of men fought for their lives in the chaotic maelstrom. The cries of men dying and the clang of metal against metal were drowned out by the rabid screams of thousands of spectators. The retiarius advanced upon him and tried to tangle his legs with a desperate throw of his net but missed. This gave the dimachaerus the opportunity dart close to the other gladiator, blocking his trident with one sword and stabbing him through the heart with the other.

Before he could disengage with his dead opponent, he was knocked to the side by an avalanche of solid wood and muscle. One of his swords was still stuck in the dead retiarius when he fell onto his back into the dirt. The impact winded him and he was gasping for air when the murmillo stood over him and prepared to acquaint his jugular with a legionnaire gladius. The dimachaerus closed his eyes in preparation of a strike that never came. When he opened them, he saw the murmillo impaled on a hoplomachus’s spear. 

The hoplomachus flicked the body off of his weapon with one skilled movement. He picked up the murmillo’s fallen gladius and tossed it to the dimachaerus with a grin before wading back into the tumultuous fray.

_La Saloniere_

“I’m so glad you agreed to grace my humble get together with your presence, Mademoiselle Geoffrin.”

“The pleasure is all mine. I am honored to have received an invitation to Madame de Tencin’s famous salon. And please, call me Marie.”

“In that case, I insist you call me Claudine,” said Madame de Tencin before lightly kissing her younger guest’s cheeks.

_The Killer Angels_

Two men sat on a small sandy hill outside of the new city of Los Angeles. They’re backs were pressed together and they gazed in opposite directions into the night. One of them passed a flask of whiskey to the other and sighed.

“I’m gonna miss you, Hancock.”

“Me too, Armistead.”

“Take care of yourself. I hope the next time we meet it’ll be after the war,” Armistead stood up and brushed off the sand from his uniform and left.

_100 Flowers_

“My parents say that I shouldn’t play with you because your family is bad.”

Two little girls stood at a river bank. One girl was dangling her feet in the water and poking at it with a stick. The wind rustled through the leaves and made the ribbons in the other girl’s hair ripple. 

“They told me your father is an evil man. They say he is capitalist who exploits his workers for his own personal gain. That he is an enemy of the proletariat and the revolution.”

The other girl said nothing and continued jabbing at the water. The girl with little ribbons in her hair stood there for some time before kneeling down to hug her friend.

“But I don’t think you’re bad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't taken a history class in 4 years.


	12. Why are you so obsessed with me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 12 - Asking Each Other Out / First Date

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Princess Bubblegum hunched behind a menu inside a dimly lit tavern.

“That’s because you’re a total pushover. I knew you would eventually say yes,” Marceline laughed and sipped at her bloody mary.

“I’m not a pushover,” Princess Bubblegum rolled her eyes, “I’m just a nice person. I don’t like to hurt people’s feelings.”

Marceline laughed, “Well, I still can’t believe you finally agreed to come with me to the Candy Tavern.”

“Yeah….” Bubblegum slumped slightly into her chair, “I’ll just get some food. I guess, I shouldn’t drink anything.”

“Come on don’t be lame, _Bonnie_ ,” Marceline slid her bloody mary over to Bubblegum, “Here, have a bloody mary. You’ll never get drunk from these.”

“Wha-? I do not get drunk. I have never gotten drunk. I am a _princess_.”

“Pshh, yeah whatever. You’re just worried your little citizens are gonna recognize you here,” Marceline smiled, “ _with me._ ”


End file.
